Three area players had roles in leading the

Misericordia softball team to a Freedom Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III softball tournament.Freshman third baseman Kristi Seiler, a Northern Lehigh grad, was a first-team All-Freedom selection and earned Rookie of the Year honors.Seiler, who has started 42 of the Cougars' 43 games, is among the team leaders in nearly every offensive statistical category. She has a .391 batting average, seven home runs, 45 RBIs and 28 runs scored.Megan Hardy, a freshman from Pleasant Valley High School, has started 33 games. She has a .286 batting average, five home runs, 27 RBIs and 14 runs scored.Nikki Boccia, a junior from Pleasant Valley High School, has started 14 games. She has a .286 batting average, one home run and five RBIs.All three players made contributions as Misericordia won the Freedom Conference Tournament title by posting a 3-0 record.Seiler had home runs in all three games, including a dramatic walk-off three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Misericordia a 7-5 win over Kings in its tourney opener. She added a two-run homer in a second round win over Eastern and then capped her big tournament with a home run and three RBIs in a 9-1 victory over Manhattenville in the championship game.Hardy also had a home run and three RBIs in the win over Manhattenville and added a solo homer against Eastern.Boccia belted a home run against Kings.Misericordia opens the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, May 10 at Rowen University in Union, NJ.